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Hi, former Pageant girl here. I didn't really do the high glitz stuff that's on tv; I mostly did natural and lower glitz things. Personally, I loved them, and I think they had a positive impact on me. I can speak in front of large groups of people, my interview skills were strengthened, and I just loved being on stage. I never had a talent for acting or singing, so pageants gave me the opportunity to be on stage and perform. It was my decision to start in the first place (I was 8 and saw it on tv - this is before the days of Toddlers and Tiaras). I did stop when I was 14, but that's because all of my friends from pageants had quit, plus I was getting busy with school and gymnastics. The critiques didn't bother me; none of them were really stupid. It was mostly notes on posture, presentation, a hairstyle or colour of dress that suited you or not, performance during the interview, etc. Nothing mean, and most of it I actually use in life. It has made my confidence much higher, and it hasn't negatively affected self image. Not all the girls at pageants are toothpicks like you might see on tv. The emphasis, especially for the teen girls, is on being healthy, not being skinny. The pageants I went to really tried to encourage healthy habits and self confidence. I loved it, and I miss it sometimes, but I'm glad I had that experience. It's not for everyone, but lots of girls -and boys!- really love it.

That makes me really happy to hear! There's so much stigma associated with pageants these days (mostly due to the negative coverage in the media), and it's nice to see that they had such a positive influence on you--even after entering adulthood.

I always thought pageants looked like a nice idea but you're right with the negative coverage. I watched a mother on toddlers and tiaras forcibly bleach her young daughters teeth and that stuck with me.

I always said if the opportunity arose and my kid didn't mind i'd try something like that. But more with dance of musical instruments because so many kids gain an interest too late. I wanted to start ballet last year but being 16 I thought i'd be too far behind and it would be awkward for me to join so at times I wish my mother had enrolled me in lessons because if I didn't like I could leave and if I loved it then i've got a lifelong hobby to explore.

Do you think growing up with that much importance on looks and grooming has positively impacted your life? Grooming and at least some fashion sense are good skills to have, as well as smiling more and social confidence.

Absolutely. I was always a 'girly girl' in that I liked to look nice (I'm not a sweatpants and a hoodie person), and knowing how to do various types of makeup and hairstyles for different occasions, which colours complemented me best, how to dress for an interview, etc. It's definitely stuff I can use in real life. I'll have to admit, I'm not a social person, but I can at least speak in front of large groups of people and in an interview situation without getting nervous. Honestly, a huge boost of confidence for me was when I won "prettiest smile" side award for the first time… a week after I got braces. It's really about being you, to the best you can be, and part of that is the way you look and the way you present yourself to the world :)

I see so many people on here who think child beauty pagents should be banned because all they see are the ones that seem harmful to the kids (since that stuff gets the ratings), so it's good to know that many enjoy it. It would be absurd to ban something that makes many children happy just because a few crazy parents take it too far, chances are the problem is with the parents and not the pagents themselves.

Yeah, it's a bit ridiculous. The kids on tv are specifically chosen for shows BECAUSE they're crazy/extreme families. I know a few families that weren't chosen for the show because they were too normal. Most kids love them, have lots of fun, and the ones that don't, quit.

Boys only have one or two pageants. Usually you'll find "Little Prince" or whatever contests in the high-glitz systems (like what you see on toddlers and tiaras). When a little girl competes to win in a system like that, it can mean, literally, 3-9 hours per day of practicing, trying on hair pieces, drilling through "pro-am" routines, altering the dress for little miss' quickly growing body...
If there's a brother in the home, he's probably feeling really left out. Entire families go to pageant weekends. What are you gonna do for brother so he doesn't feel worthless and left out while everyone is in PAGEANT WIN MODE? You're gonna pack him a tuxedo and teach him stage presence too.
After I didn't want to compete anymore, I judged in many different systems. I have never once seen a boy over 5 years old who actually wanted to be there. Not once.

I wasn't in pageants but I was a child model. Not much effect besides only really feeling comfortable/beautiful with fixed hair, full make up, and nice clothes.
It gave me huge self confidence as a child, but that went away after I quit modeling and I became hugely shy and never felt beautiful. You get used to cameras and being told how adorable/beautiful/etc you are, and when that goes away it's hard to find confidence from yourself without the constant complements.
All in all though, I'm glad I did it. I'm comfortable on a stage, I developed personal style very young, and I eventually found self confidence within myself.

Sounds like something my older brother would say to me. Once he told me I was actually a boy (Im female) and my parents really wanted a girl so they just dressed me as one, and being the very young, gullible child I was, I believed him and cried

Man this kinda made it "click" for me as to why famous people can be so insecure about their looks. From the outside looking in its easy to think, "you're in a magazine or on tv of course you're beautiful" but that's when they're all dolled up after being in a makeup chair for two hours. There is no one there affirming them in their natural state. Man. That's depressing. I've always been a big fan of minimalistic makeup on women, and I think this cements It.

Being raised with a former pageant queen mother and around the "walk in moms footsteps" sister, I was always being complimented. Now, reality sets in when literally no one compliments you. It does destroy your confidence.

This is honestly one of the few pictures I've found him attractive in...because he doesn't look like Justin Timberlake.

I'm not saying Justin Timberlake isn't attractive on his own. I recognize that many people find him handsome, I just don't think he is.

I think it's part of a leftover N'Sync - Backstreet Boys feud I had with my brother as a kid. (He liked N'Sync, I liked Backstreet Boys, he insulted them frequently just to piss me off, therefore fights ensued because we were immature brats.)

You can choose to ignore this if it doesn't fully meet what you're looking for but I figure it at least gives a little insight into pageants.

I ran for the first time at 19. It was a Miss America affiliated pageant and I had a blast. I got $500 in scholarship money for being second runner up. My biggest challenge was the interview. I have a tendency to over-answer, so I really worked on my interview skills. I ran in another Miss America affiliated pageant and won.

That year was huge for me. I never thought of myself as a pageant girl. I ran because it was fun! Over the year, I was able to present my platform (sexual assault education and awareness) to high schools and colleges. My public speaking skills improved dramatically. It was an amazing year. I also ended up with just over $7,000 in scholarships after competing at the state level.

I think the Miss America Organization is awesome. Sure there are some mean girls here and there but most of the title holders are extremely nice, generous, and intelligent ladies.

Miss America is a wonderful pageant organization at the local and state level. It has given thousands of girls scholarship money awarded based on real-life skills like interview and community involvement.

I know Miss America gets blasted over their swimsuit and gown competitions, but it's kind of a strange thing to explain. What they're looking for is not a hot body but rather physical fitness and "poise".

The physical fitness is seen as a marker of discipline. When you see contestants at the state level and even in the national pageant, there are a very wide range of body types. Some are curvier than others, some have more definition to the muscle. All of them are healthy. Perhaps it has changed a lot but when I did my preliminaries for the Miss America system, girls were actually unfavoured for being "too skinny".

Poise is much more of a subjective quality. I had it best described as "the feminine grace under fire". The modern coed is going to feel awkward as hell in a ballgown... Then you ask her to give an elevator speech about herself as a first impression... Then later she has to describe why her charity is the best out of them all... And perhaps if she's lucky enough to be one of the most poised she'll get to strut around in a bikini... Well, poise measures how you take that situation, manage it with the judges expectations, while never forgetting to make a personal statement. Poise is not something everyone has. Being pretty is not poise.

Can you measure those things without the swimsuit and ballgown? Well, yeah, but why not do it with a theatrical flourish?

Congrats on your wins, Miss Stardust! I'm glad you had fun with it and used it as a platform for your cause.

$30 for my talent gown and $25 for a suit for my interview (go Kohls!) I borrowed my evening gown and swim suit from the pageants I ran in. They had a huge array to chose from. When I was a titleholder, I had a wardrobe allowance that I used to purchase the clothing for state.

Travel was all paid for by the local festival that was associated with the pageant. I went to over 30 parades that summer and traveled to the Twin Cities for their Winter Carnival and Aquatenniel and up to Winnepeg Canada for their Festival du Voyager.

I was in a pageant or two while I was a child. I asked my parents to be in it. I remember they sent me fliers and I asked my parents to be in a Page -e-ant. A few thousands dollars later, some sponsors, some dress shopping, and bam, there I was. a 3rd grader trying to answer what my favorite color is and why. um. Rainbow?

Here's the thing. I was painfully shy. I was the girl you'd see in the back of the classroom in the over-sized sweater with tweety bird on it .. I was too shy. When the teachers called on me I was afraid to talk - and I would start literally CRYING.

so my parents were like "you want to be in a pageant?. um.... okay?... Are you sure? like you know .. you have to talk, right?"

And so we did it. and I was the fat girl in a pageant. I put on some light make up as there were make up restrictions -girls could only wear mascara and blush in my age section and that was only due to the lighting. Did I win? no. and I cried my eyes out when I didn't because i tried. and i tried Hard. But next year when I went to school I made my first friend, And i still have that friend. And I didn't cry when the teacher called on me to answer a question the next year. Maybe it was a waste of money or a coincidence or something.

I enjoyed it. I Hated the girls there. I remember that. It went by quickly, and i tried to go back the next year but finances didn't allow for it.

Being thrown into a pageant when you're ill-prepared is a nightmare. My first one went the same. "Sportswear" in pageantry doesn't mean "clothes you're supposed to do sports in". Oh my god, showing up in my floor hockey uniform while all the other girls were in cocktail suits. How the fuck does a 8 year old even get a cocktail suit!?

That's a hard question for me to answer. I still push myself to try and be outgoing.. but it's exactly that, a push. I do things to push myself like i'm president of some organizations at my college.. and that helps get me out there and talk to people... So yes and no. I don't act like i'm shy, but i still feel it. If i hadn't had done it, I worry what I would have turned out to be.

Fake it til you make it, darlin!
Like you, I also am making myself be public. You'd think I'm naturally open and outgoing - I just started a career in science and technology outreach a few weeks ago - but truth is I'm terrified of being around people. After each pageant, I would need to take a few days to hide out. It was really working full time in a person-based job that got my out of pageants... I wasn't allowed time to decompress after a pageant weekend (which, in your 20s involves "my flight got in 9 hours late...").
My last pageant, I spent the entire time in my hotel room. I didn't go to any of the mixers, I got ready in my personal bathroom instead of the dressing room, I'm sure my neighbors hated me practicing my talent in there instead of the ballroom. In the end, I think that's why I did so poorly. I didn't even place in talent for the first time ever.

Anyway, sister, just know that you might not ever feel incredibly comfortable being in public like that. As you do things that get you out around people, remember to take care of yourself. You will need time to recharge your batteries. It's totally TOTALLY okay to just be like "sorry, today is me day" and just stay in once in a while.

I was not in beauty pageants, but I was a child model then competitive dancer, which many people confuse for beauty queens.

I absolutely enjoyed being a model and dancer, and I now am a dance teacher, but I will be going back to competing next season if I have the time. It was my decision after I turned 8 or so, before it was more so my mother's choice, but I enjoyed it so it didn't really matter. All critiques were constructive, and I was protected from anything too harsh unless I messed up really badly beginning when I was a preteen. If I had a criticism, it was just gone over at my next lesson as something I needed to work on. I am extremely confident because of it and while there are times I longed to be skinnier, prettier, etc like other girls I saw at the competitions and I had some really dark times with dealing with myself a couple of years ago, I've grown out of it.

I was a competition dancer, also. That culture is weird. I danced mid-tier for everything except tap (high tier). I think ultimately it had benefits, since as a dancer you would see the other dancers and it would help you grow so much between seasons, and also confidence, stage presence, an awareness of what facial expressions you're making at any given time. On the other hand, there were tons of age-inappropriate dances that would get sent to competitions, judges would comment that "you really should be wearing fishnets for this number" (average age: 12), and in-studio drama is a real thing. (Not as bad as Abby Lee's makes it seem, but every slight seems personal at age 13.)

I did competitive dance until I was a junior in high school. I NEVER fit in with the other girls. They were catty, and had an ignorant small-town mindset. I never gained the confidence that the other girls did because I wasn't a "favorite" of the instructors. I was mostly ignored, because tap was the only thing I excelled at but tap wasn't "cool". Then, in college, I joined a swing dance team and finally realized what my dance experience should have been. The team was like a family, there were always compliments along with constructive criticsm, and drama was highly frowned upon. I'm really glad that competitive dance was a great experience for some people!

It was equally terrible at my first studio, but then I switched to a small studio. (Four people on competitive team my first year.) There was still SOME drama, but less, and it was very family like. My favorite story from my new studio was this one girl who was on the team the first year (when the team consisted of four people) who quit senior year because the "team was holding her back" and decided to only do solos. Our solos went head to head and I beat her by less than a full point, but I got a gigantic trophy for being first in my division and she got a tiny pin. It was lovely.

Are you me?? My dance experience up to college was exactly the same as yours. I was a beast at tap, but I was never a favorite and never made any friends even after 12 years of dancing at the same studio.

I didn't join the swing club in college, as much as I wanted to (marching band got in the way) but I'm getting married next month and my fiancé and I have been taking swing lessons for a year for our first dance and we both love it :)

Haha you do sound like me! I am glad I was able to enjoy dance later in life despite my kind of shitty experience throughout my childhood. I would totally encourage my (future) children to do dance, but only in a good environment.

My studio experience sounds really similar to yours, except eventually I had somewhat of a "breakout" season and got really close to my instructor once the girls who had an attitude and would fight with each other graduated. The competition culture is so hard to describe for someone who has never experienced it. I don't know anything else that has both raised and lowered my self-esteem so much at once.

Hahaha, that is a very good way to put it! It really makes girls (and guys) compare themselves to one another, in a less than good way. Even though I was good in one area, I'd watch other girls and think "my leaps will never look like that" or "she has perfect turns, why can't I be like that?"

Abby lee disgusts me on many levels.She claims that being "hard" on the girls makes them better but my best friend's dance group won many titles and their dance teacher was like a second parent. She was very pleasant and managed to point out mistakes and flaws without being a bitch. Dance moms gives competitive dancing a bad name.

I was forced into doing pageants from the toddler age up until 11 or so, but I did not have abusive parents whatsoever. I think at the beginning I thought it was super fun to go travel, play dress up, and make pageant friends along the way, but as I got older I withdrew from being social and outgoing and really started to hate pageants altogether. I specifically remember one pageant benefiting Make A Wish affiliated with Miss America. I even remember Ericka Dunlap winning in one of the older groups. Anyway, the initial part of the pageant you had to go onstage and introduce yourself. I was 6 at the time, so they only made you state your name, where you're from, and something you loved doing. I got up onstage and just froze. I ended up running off stage without saying a word and my parents freaked out. Not directly at me, but more so at the thought of 'we have no shot at winning anymore'. Weird thing is, I didn't tell my mom I hated it for years because she loved taking me. She would make all of my costumes/dresses, do my makeup and hair, and was so overall so proud (Asian mother who likes to brag about her children). From then on, I got really quiet and reserved, totally opposite from my childhood. I remained that way until mid-college. I can happily say now I have a positive self image though due to other life factors.

I was put into parents very early by my mother who is a narcissist. Pretty sure she was the nightmare pageant mom. I was forced to compete until I was 15 years old and I freaked out bad enough that my father intervened and ended it.
I wouldn't say that pageants affected me negatively as much as it was my mother. I often wondered what it would have been like to compete with a normal mother by my side.

I did it because I wanted to. I was O-B-S-E-S-S-E-D with dress-up and begged my mom to let me. She wouldn't so my cousin and I would go behind her back. Eventually I won a few county fair shin-digs and I couldn't hide it anymore. My mom was reluctant at first but it was kind of a "what are you gonna do?" kind of thing. Her eventually letting me compete was pretty much the only positive thing she did in my childhood.

I continued off and on throughout my preteen and teenage years. It wasn't the same kind of fun dress up that it had been as a child. Child pageantry in the glamour systems really is the same parody of womanhood as drag shows. When you grow up, though, suddenly you are the woman you portray and it's not dress up anymore. As a Queen, you aren't just a pretty smile - you become a spokeswoman for the organization and usually have to also hold a charity platform you do public work for.

I just wanted to do crazy shit like this. Funny enough, once old enough I was invited to the preliminaries for Miss Teen USA which is the same system as Miss Universe. Had I known I could some day take the stage as Optimus Prime, I wouldn't have sneered at their insistence I needed to fix my teeth (in Michigan, being a pageant queen is no excuse for not playing hockey) and lose weight (I was a very healthy 130 at the time).

Because I approached pageantry on my own terms, it was an incredibly enriching experience for me. I learned a lot about public presence and poise. I was given the tools to approach stressful situations with a cool exterior. I was empowered with confidence and learned how to project that confidence even when I might not feel it right then.

I also was able to look objectively at womanhood by having its standards presented to me while in the construct of fantasy play. When I first began to compete in beauty pageants, I saw "womanhood" as a story no different from "superheroes" on the playground or "mad scientists" in my cousins' basement. I went to finishing school and know how to receive Presidents and Ambassadors, can set a classic table, and know when modern manners are appropriate... But I've always considered that a choice that I may make instead of a standard I must adhere to. I think that's something very powerful. If he gave me a couple of days, I could properly host Obama but instead everyone's coming over for home made hard cider and Cards Against Humanity.

Today, I'm really nothing like you'd expect a pageant queen to be. I ended up going from my last beauty pageant, a frustratingly hard won 2nd place, into Roller Derby with only a few month gap. I am a war reenactor, sleeping in 60 year old wool that smells like grandpa's armpits for fun, and I do small side work as an architectural forensic photographer for preservationist organizations. I'm pretty sure everyone is clicking post histories for pics in this thread, but a quick read of mine will show that I also enjoy psychedelic drugs and suffer from PTSD after an abusive relationship. I look like your typical gutter punk or dirty hippy - minus the smell. I don't particularly care if my clothes match, my hair needs to be done about 2 months ago, and I haven't shaved in... I don't remember the last time I shaved.

A few weeks ago, I was packing up all my stuff. I'm saving up to purchase a 31 foot Airstream trailer to live in full-time, so a LOT of this has to go. I have about 48 cubic feet to store all that sentimental crap we're told we have to hang on to. I considered completely ditching my crowns. That life is over, right? I think, though, how much power those crowns gave me - but in a "the power was inside you all along!" way. I think they're important avatars for what I did for myself on my terms. I hope they can become an icon of sorts moving on even if that life is supposedly over.

Seriously, my cousin and I would "play dress up" to practice. "Oh, ya know, just pretending I'm the Queen of England... Wave, wave, wave..."
We collected cans to get the 25 dollar entry fees into the local "Miss Blueberry Association" junk. We'd seriously dig thru the trash so I could put on a pretty dress.
That's how you raise up kids.

I did child modeling before my parents got divorced and our family fell apart. Mostly, it was fun. I remember nice hotels for auditions and food and people being nice to me. My dad really pushed it more than my mom. He was in charge of clothes and hair for the most part. He would have liked us to wear heavy makeup but my mom drew the line. Mostly it was natural stuff. My sister did it with me so it was more fun. We were in different age groups for pageants so no competition. My parents kept anything we earned from the modeling aspect and they put half of any pageant winnings in this huge elephant 'piggy bank' I had. The elephant bank had a few grand in it so they started putting it in a real bank account after a while. Then they got a divorce. I was about ten when I first asked about the money in the bank and was told it was used by my mom to support us since my dad wasnt paying child support. I said ok, and decided next time I went to dads house (he had the bank) i would take it. Turns out he smashed itand took the money. I was more hurt aboit losing thr bank.itself than the money because the elephant was porcelain and my maw maw who died gave it to me.

One thing that is positive from the experience is I have a really high self esteem. I am one of the women in the world who actually sees a beautiful person when I look in the mirror and I have incredibly high standards for how I expect to be treated.

Edit: Im sorry if that last part sounds conceited.. its sad that in this world saying you love yourself and want to be treated well because you feel you deserve it is 'bad'.. I encourage every person to never settle for someone who believes you are ordinary, and never get in a relationship with someone who you will treat ordinarily either! There are many mediocre things in life, love shouldnt be one of them!

Edit: Also, I'm very happily married so I think this is good advice, but hey if you disagree, thats fine!

Edit: Im sorry if that last part sounds conceited.. its sad that in this world saying you love yourself and want to be treated well because you feel you deserve it is 'bad'.. I encourage every person to never settle for someone who believes you are ordinary, and never get in a relationship with someone who you will treat ordinarily either! There are many mediocre things in life, love shouldnt be one of them!

This does not sound conceited at all! It's nice to know there are some women out there who don't have to struggle with self-value. I'm very happy for you :) I used to struggle with it a bit myself, but I'm but better at it now too, and I completely agree with you!

Fuck the douche bags. I wake up most mornings, look in the mirror and think, damn, I look good! I feel good! Im awesome, and I deserve to be treated that way. I'm glad there's another woman out there who feels the same way. There's no need to apologize, these are just dumb guys who are scared of women who don't need their approval.

Yeah that's true. Out of curiosity, how would you prepare your child for beauty pageants? I'm wondering about the kids that feel a sort of entitlement after being inundated with compliments and praise. I'd rather have a child that still had a high self-esteem but still managed to be down-to-earth so to speak.

I wouldnt have my child do pageants. If they wanted to, maybe. But I wont be the one to introduce it to them. I want them to have hobbies, just not such shallow ones. I really hope my children will be able to play piano, speak other languages, and particiate in either classic ballet or soccer. (Thats just my perfect world scenario I realize its unlikely and you have no way to know what your kid will like or be good at)

Anyways, yeah my husband is a big nerd lol he builds computers for fun and we play chess on date night so I'd rather my kids know how to play piano than walk down a catwalk.. but I was showered with compliments my whole youth and I still feel very 'down to earth' bit I just never understood how someone could think they were ugly when I was always so sure I was beautiful (Regardless of what people think. Like literally I think a million people could call me ugly and I'd just shrug and say thats ypur opinion and walk away smiling still thinking I am my best self and therefore I am beautiful)

I'm late to this but I was a child model and also a pageant participant, although my parents only entered me into natural pageants. From what I remember, both pageants and modelling were quite enjoyable and I love looking at my old photos. I even have some articles from the local newpaper that were written about my pageants, which I find pretty cool. Overall, I think it was a positive experience - I have some great memories, some really awesome trophies, and made a couple thousand dollars which my parents put into a CD for me. 10/10 would do again.

Hi everyone. Former Miss America Junior Petite City Queen here. (I know a mouthful of a title) I had fun at the time and was very into it and confident. As I got older I had poor self esteem like any other girl and it's the only thing I had ever won since. So it didn't really affect me at all.

I am glad to see that a lot of these answers are from people with positive experiences. However, I was forced to do pageants for 3 years. Being forced was strike one. How mean and catty the other contestants and their mothers could be was strike 2. Finding out I was ugly was strike 3.

I really wish I was never in those pageants. I wish I could erase the mean things that were said to me from my memory. I would destroy all photo evidence if i could. I am happy for everyone that had a positive pageant experience. I did not enjoy them. If my child ever asks to be in one, it will be something I will have to think long and hard about.

I wanted my parents to take me to a child modeling audition. When the time came- they gave me a choice to go to the audition or to go to dinner at a Shoney's buffet. I chose the buffet. I believe this decision has affected my life greatly.

ITP: had an abusive mother, escaped her by throwing self into pageantry.

I know you're joking, but without the empowerment I felt having grown up in pageantry, I probably would have never believed myself to have the strength to stand up and leave her home at 12. There was only one adult in my life at the time that told me I was worthless and only desired for one thing... Pageants taught me I was so much more.

Hi! I made an account for this so as to not reveal myself on my main account.. and also to prove that there are, indeed, former pageant competitors on reddit. We are not so different, you and I. I might not be exactlyyyy what you're looking for because I competed in my teens and early 20s but I honestly had an extremely positive experience with pageants. It wasn't at all what the media perceives it to be. I'd be happy to post a picture of my trophies to verify and/or answer questions if anyone is interested.

Yeah! I'm still friends with several girls I met through pageants. In general the people I know are honestly really sweet, smart and high achieving people. Of course there are some girls that I no longer keep in touch with but I think that would be the case with any social group.

Absolutely! It helped me with my interviewing skills immensely because (at least in my experience) the questions they would ask you were very rapid fire style so you had to think quickly on your feet. I learned a lot about networking, setting a goal and sticking to it, resume building, etc. Doing pageants also taught me a lot of lessons I couldn't have learned elsewhere. For example, I always remember my coach telling me that the whole weekend you're at the pageant, you're being judged. You never know who might be in the elevator with you so you should remember the things you say and do to fellow contestants, your friendliness in line at Starbucks, These things all come together to form the way people feel about you and one day you might want those people to be on your good side.

My child had an offer to go to NYC for Wilhemnia models. We declined. She was a world class Irish dancer before (she attended worlds in Australia years ago), so we already knew the fast glamour a lifestyle. If you've never watched competitive Irish dancing, google it - it's pageantry at it's best.

After suffering an ankle injury, we hung up the ghillies (shoes) & that was the end of her career. When the model offer came, we were both over it. I don't think it offers anything but money (if you make it, that is). Not worth it.

However, if she wasn't injured, I bet she'd still be dancing today. While it's pageant-life (wigs, dresses, lots and lots of shoes, socks, sock glue, tiaras, etc) - it gave her so much love. The art, the team, the strive for perfection. Something I don't see pageants offering.

Not OP, but a similar story. Growing up, my sister and I were little blonde haired, green eyed children with eyelashes like a Jersey cow. My mum used to get approached all the time about modelling contracts and she always said no. She didn't want us growing up thinking that our self worth was tied to how we looked. Of course, I don't know how things would have turned out if we had gone down that road, but I am very happy that she didn't let us go into the modelling industry. I have friends who became models and it is a pretty punishing, uncertain sort of life. You've got to be very psychologically robust for the skinny = worthy messages not to have a negative impact.

Yes, yes it is. It's horrible and very difficult unless you are one of The Chosen Few. I did it for one measly week when I moved to NYC and it was exhausting finding go-sees that fit my profile and running across the city from place to place to place to place with 100s of other girls to be judged in moments for a shot at a couple hundred bucks per gig.

Plus what do they do when they can't model anymore? Now I work in IT and have established a career of achievements that make me employable even if I should wake up ugly or fat.

I used to do Irish dancing as a kid! To this day I am baffled at the American dresses, they were so much more glitzy than I'd ever seen. I adored my traditional dress so much that it was a shock to see such sparkly, non-trad styles. To each their own though!

Yep, high-glitz heaven. My daughter always stood out because she didn't have sequins thrown up on her. We always chose an embroidered dress: her best was a mermaid with just a twinkle in her eyes. I don't know how some of those girls dance in a 10 lb dress.

Not me, but my cousin was a child beauty queen. I think she turned out way better than a lot of them. She did pageants up until she was eleven and it was obvious she wasn't getting taller than 5'2 (shortie). She would continuously win crowns and prizes but couldn't care less. She liked being able to dance on stage and be with her friends behind it. She's in college now, studying to be an MD and is incredibly beautiful. A very level headed, intelligent girl.
Some of her pictures from when she was five or six should be put in magazines. Her mom never put her in anything ridiculous or put too much makeup, just the right amount of glitz and glam.

One of my cousins did a lot of pageants when she was young. She didn't like it but her mom made her. Eventually, she convinced her mom to let her focus on competitive dance, which she did enjoy and after that she was happier.

We're not especially close, so I don't know much beyond the broad outline above about how it affected her life. I can tell you she's a knockout to this day and always has perfect hair, clothes, and makeup, but I don't know how much of that was the influence of pageants and the dance world and how much was the influence of her mom, who's old fashioned about stuff like that (the type who'll wear makeup and heels to the grocery store) and perfectionist to the point that I suspect some degree of OCD.

I never did child pageants (they're not even offered where I'm from) but I did do them as a teen.
I entered in to a local pageant as a dare when I was 14. I placed 1st and was addicted after that.
I did every pageant offered after that until I was 18. Even though I never won a big title, I did win scholarships in a few and even met my best friend at one. My interview skills improved so much and I met a lot of great contacts that I used in the future.

I'm 24 now and am still involved with the local and provincial pageants. I am their hairdresser for all the title holders events and photoshoot.

I wasn't a child beauty queen or in pageants, but when I was a kid I remember my aunt mentioning stuff about modelling auditions for Sears and stuff like that. My mom managed to get into contact with the people from Sears and sent them my pictures and they jumped at the opportunity to include me in their ads. My mom told me the good news, and even then I knew that was not something I wanted to do, so I told her I didn't want to do it. She did try to push me into it, and to this day she still tells me that I should have done it, but it was never something I was into. Thinking about it now, I probably could have benefitted a little from doing things like that, but it's not something I regret.

My biggest regret is when I stopped swimming. Body issues and awkwardly going through puberty in a swimsuit is a helluva thing.

Me and my 3 sisters did them growing up and we all had very different experiences. For me, I learned a lot about myself at a young age and gained a lot of confidence in myself as interviews and speeches forced me to reflect on my own life and how I'd gotten to that point in my life and why. My mom was wonderful in helping us! As you've seen on TV, there are some true mom nightmares of women living through their daughters and such. It doesn't help anyone, and if anything, it was a HUGE disadvantage to those girls because they were under a lot of pressure. My favorite part of pageants was the interview part. Since my mom also did pageants growing up, she was my coach and it brought us really close. Due to my ability to dominate an interview, I've gotten jobs I didn't think were possible to attain. Pageants did cost us a small fortune, and my parents fought a lot about it as we don't have much money, but I think in any family there are going to be issues about things your kids are doing and the cost, or at least that was my experience. I've seen pageants rip people apart in terms of friendships or even with families. Like I said before, my mom was a wonderful coach, and it helped us transition to real life.

I've done a couple of pageants but the natural kind. More of a "Miss America" style rather than the Honey Boo Boo glitzy spray tan stuff. The ones I did took into account your community service and personality more than your appearance (although posture and presentation counted a lot). They wanted to see who was having the most fun yet was nice, responsible, etc. Most of the people in natural pageants are smart. Like average intelligence and above- not like the cliche pageant videos where the girl is interviewed on stage and she blanks out and says something really dumb. Usually they picked the perfect candidate, but a couple of times they picked the wrong person as the winner- the girl who showed up late for the events and talked snottily when the judges were around. It all matters on how well you can fake an outgoing personality.

I'm in high school and I still do 1-2 a year, but they are expensive. I wanted to do them and I started at 13. I only ever did the politically correct "personality" type of pageants so I was being judged on how much I gave back to the community. So it made me want to volunteer and keep my life in check. My self esteem is good. You need to be confident to win.

My mother had me to them as a small child. "Achy Breaky Heart," and the constant singing of it has caused an extreme hate of country and country sounding music that gives me an instant headache and cringe face. I can't really handle it.

I rebelled against the color pink really hard once I got out of it around the age of 6 and turned into a pretty hard core tom boy for years. I wouldn't let my mother go near me with make up. Other than going goth for a few year in high school I didn't embrace my own femininity until my 20's.

My wife did modeling and pageants and the long term side effects drive me nuts. She constantly worries about how her clothes make her look, is her hair ok, is her make up OK. She feels like people are always judging her and always looking at her and talking about her. I try and block it out and not let it bother me but sometimes it gets to be too much.

I competed in one when I was 12. It was not a great experience. First off, I was so intimidated when I met all the previous winners walking around, I just started crying. I knew I could never win because I wasn't pretty enough. Also, the girls (and more so the mothers) were so catty. Every time I stepped on an elevator, I was eyed up and down by the parents. It was my first pageant, and there were about 200 girls in my category, so of course I didn't win. At the time, my parents were going through some financial struggles, so they couldn't afford the $1000 dress, the coaching, etc. The only thing I got out of it was learning to stand on stage.

But I do remember the ones associated with twirling. I won state twirling champion at 13 and was 2nd place in little miss majorette (I refused to hold hands with the boy who was supposed to walk us out on stage).

It was fun getting to sit on the parade floats, and go on TV shows and talk for 15 seconds.

After my parents divorced, I didn't do any more, and my step-father was completely against it. He seemed to think that girls who were in pageants got in trouble more than girls who weren't in pageants. Which is the exact opposite of my experience.

I decided to do it because I was an ultra competitive kid growing up. I really liked them and the girls who did it with me were honestly nice and everyone got along. I was shocked at my first pagent to see all the girls who didn't make it through to the final round cheering on the remaining girls and giving pep talks to the few who Jett's were broken.
The best things that I learned were how to strut in 6inch heals, interview skills, and how to make your boobs look perfect in anything.

My sister did them from when she was a baby until 13-14. She picked them up again and is doing one of the Mrs. America state pageants. It is hell. They obsess over looks, it burns your money fast, and it is kinda fucked up to be honest. I used to be someone that supported it, until I met my girlfriend and she pointed out all the flaws with it. I hate them.

For my sister and mother, they enjoy it. For everyone else in my family, we hate it. I like the travel, but the stress and the constant judging and rumors, it was to much. When my sister took her hiatus, we were talked about on message boards about how my mom and dad divorced, my oldest brother killed himself, I was put into foster care, etc. It just can escalate very quickly if you aren't careful.

Technically I am a former pageant girl as I was in one pageant. Keep in mind I grew up in a hick town. So we go to the local firehouse which is just incredibly luxurious, right? I refused to wear a gown and insisted on wearing my Beauty and the Beast Belle dress. We got it at the Disney store and I pretty much worse this every day. So, I'm wearing my Belle dress and sneakers (light up, ohhhhh). I go on stage, decide this is incredibly icky, scrunch up my nose, and walk off. My dad still laughs about it.

I don't remember what it was like because it stopped when I was a toddler. My mum and her friends thought it would be fun to enter me and their own kids. I wasn't told about it until my teens when we moved- I found ribbons my mum had kept and asked her about them. Seems like it was a social thing for her and she stopped because she didn't want me to realise I was being judged like that.

I don't have much to add here, but I wanted to contribute for statistical purposes. I was in pageants from age 4-8 in the late eighties and early nineties. I was in pageants that ran the full gamut of competition from local county fair type shows to major regional events.

I have nothing but positive things to say about my experience. I just remember having lots of fun playing dress up and getting to sing in front of people, which I loved. I was never conscious that I was being judged on my looks. At the end of the day, if a kid was any kind of average plus in looks, it didn't really matter so much. It was all about who had the most money to pump into it.

Child pageant here, won first one at age 7, last one at 22. Went to an all girls, catholic school in a hispanic country - think a cross of finishing school and magnet school. It was disconcerting at first, im pretty ackward, so it helped me develop social skills and to know everyone can be both beautiful n smart, it all depends on the time/effort you are willing to put in. I dont talk much about it because of the stigma, but it was fun while i did it.

I didn't find out until much later.
I did it at 4 and under and have little to no memory of my time there.
However, one day when I was 9 years old, I went into our garage and found dozens of trophies with my name on them. I asked my parents and then they showed me the pictures. Since I don't remember much, I doubt it has had any effect. It was my mom's decision and my dad went along with it.
The only thing I can say is that to this day I have a HUGE issue with wearing too much make up and looking fake.
If you saw the pictures you'd understand why.